Sunday, February 17, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Kyle Smyth scored a game-high 19 points for Don Bosco, which stymied St. Joseph in the Jambo semifinals and is now jsut one win away from a third straight county championship.

HACKENSACK – A hand in the face of every shooter, a body on the body of every potential rebounder, the proper defensive rotation on the rare occasion that someone was beaten off the dribble, very few turnovers and near perfect free throw shooting. If there is such thing as a perfect basket game, Don Bosco Prep came as close to playing it as is possible in a 49-31 win over St. Joseph Regional on Saturday night in the semifinals of the Bergen County Jamboree.

“We played about as well as we could play defensively tonight,” said Bosco head coach Kevin Diverio, whose team held St. Joseph to just 11 field goals in 41 attempts. “We almost did everything we could do in terms of defending on the perimeter, contesting shots, boxing out. On the defensive end I am thrilled with what our kids accomplished today.”

The two-time defending champion Ironmen were not too shabby on offense either. They scored the first 11 points of the game, they opened the second half with a 6-0 run to push their lead into double digits and they never trailed on their way to the Jambo final for the fifth time in the last seven years.

“We knew we had to come out with intensity. Bosco-Joe’s is just a rivalry and whoever has more heart is going to win this game,” said AJ LoRusso, part of Bosco all-senior three guard rotation that put the clamps on St. Joe’s on the perimeter. “They know us, we know them and it starts right away, right from the opening tap. Our practices were great this week, we were all focused and it’s a great win.”

Joe Efese led St. Joseph with 11 points.

Maybe the best compliment that can be paid to Bosco is that the Ironmen, when they are playing well, can border on boring. They just get after it on the defensive end and take away not just one aspect of an opponents attack, but just about all of it. The only open shot available on Saturday night would have been from near halfcourt and even then the Ironmen would likely have limited half-court heaves to one per possession.

St. Joseph was held to 9 points in the first quarter, 9 points in the second quarter, 10 points in the third quarter and 3 points in the fourth. Bosco led 23-18 at halftime, 37-28 and after three quarters and used the final four minutes or so to put on a clinic about how to run time off the clock in a spread offense.

The difference was in the backcourt where Kyle Smyth (game-high 19 points), Georgio Milligan (12 points) and LoRusso (11 points) all finished in double figures while holding SJR’s point guard and leading scorer Hakeem Williams without a point.

It was a stark turnaround from when the two teams met in the regular season when St. Joseph (17-7) pulled off a 47-45 win at Don Bosco on January 5.

“Rebounding was a big thing. We got manhandled the first game rebounding and today they hurt us a little bit early, but we would up controlling the boards,” said Smyth. “Jumping out to an early lead separated the two teams right away. Certainly that 11-0 lead helps early on.”

Georgio Milligan scored 12 points as part of the backcourt that combined to score 42 of Bosco's 49 points.

St. Joseph’s entire offense output was shared by four players as Joe Efese finished with 11 points, Dave Cooke added 10 points and Kai Dominguez, who made the Green Knights’ lone three point field goal, and Marvin Fulford (4 points) shared SJR’s other 10 points.

Outside of its backcourt, Bosco did not need much help on the offensive end and the front court was free to concentrate on defense and rebounding. Alexander DiSanzo (4 points) and Kenny Click provided a stout physical presence in the lane, Vaughn Gray (2 points) and Brandan Beckford played well off the bench for Bosco, which will play No. 4 Hackensack, an upset winner over top-seeded Queen of Peace, in Wednesday night’s Jambo final.

“We are back-to-back county champions and we are out to prove that we are the best team in the county once again,” said LoRusso. “We know Hackensack is good. We played them tough earlier this year and with Keon (Williams) and Ricky (Carroll), they are gelling now. In the beginning of the season they were a little uneasy with each other but now they are playing well. We respect them and we know we have to come ready to play.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.